Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American StatehouseThe inside story of one of the country's most secretive and misruled statehouses by a former New York State senator;. "Democracy takes decades to take root and flourish. New York is learning that it takes just three men in a room to maim and seriously harm a vigorous and representative system of government."-from Three Men in a Room It might be a scene from a movie: three powerful and secretive men sit in a private corner of an exclusive New York club, imperiously making decisions that affect the lives of millions of people. But the scene takes place in Albany, New York, and the exclusive members are the governor, the senate majority leader, and the speaker of the assembly of the New York State legislature. Three Men in a Room is an insider's exposé of how one of the country's largest and most powerful governments-with the fourth-largest budget, behind only the federal government's, California's, and Texas's-has become a model of corrupt, inefficient, and undemocratic governance. Seymour Lachman ran the New York City Board of Education, taught political science, and was then elected to New York's legislature. What he found when he arrived in the halls of the state senate was a Potemkin village of government where legislators vote on bills they haven't read during legislative sessions they haven't attended. After four terms, Lachman left his safe seat in disgust, and has now written this sharp, mordant, and impassioned call for reform. Although Lachman's story takes place in one of the country's most progressive states, the problems described in this book are rampant in statehouses throughout the country. |
Contents
A Can of Worms | 1 |
Like a Meeting of the Supreme Soviet | 29 |
The Governor Versus the Legislature | 59 |
Copyright | |
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Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American ... Seymour P. Lachman,Robert Polner No preview available - 2006 |
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Alan Hevesi Albany Albany's approval Assembly Speaker assemblyman bill bonds Borough Park Brennan Brooklyn Bruno budget called Carey Carl McCall chamber Commission committee commuter tax Connor constitutional convention contributions County create debt decision Demo democracy Democratic district lines editorial Eliot Spitzer ethics federal fiscal former funds Governor Hevesi house leaders Hugh Carey Hutchens incumbent interests issue LATFOR lawmakers leadership Legis legislative leaders Legislature Liz Krueger lobbying lobbyists Long Island Manhattan Mario Cuomo Medicaid member items ment million minority nonpartisan oversight party passed Pataki Paterson political politicians president projects public authorities redistricting reelection reform Republican revenue Richard Brodsky Robert Rockefeller Roosevelt rules scandal seat Senate Majority Leader serve Sheldon Silver Silver Skelos Smith Spitzer stadium staff statehouse Tammany taxpayers term limits tion tive told upstate vote voters York City York State's York's Yorkers